Cisco slug it out with Juniper in router battle

Cisco is claiming that its latest router technology will give it the over rivals Juniper. The company claims that it will deliver what will be the fastest router on the market, in a bid to halt the slide of Cisco's market share.

Cisco has declared war on Juniper, claiming its latest router will be the fastest on the market. The company is due to release details of the technology in an effort to keep its emerging rival at bay.

In March 2000 Juniper eclipsed all of Cisco’s high end products with the launch of the first ever 10- gigabit router and while Cisco’s revenue tables US$25 billion compared to Juniper’s $1 billion, it has seen its stock price fall while its rival’s has doubled within a year.

This period has seen Cisco looking over its shoulder, as it watched its market share drop from 75 percent to 65 percent over the last 12 months. Juniper’s 35 percent share of the worldwide router market has been realised with help from Worldcom and Genuity, who have both signed lucrative deals with the company.

Addressing the World Economic Forum in Davos, Cisco CEO John Chambers predicted a difficult upcoming quarter for the company as a result of reduced investment from its major customers. However, he predicted that this slowdown would pass, insisting Cisco would only suffer from a “two quarter phenomenon”.

Cisco will be hoping that the release of its new high-speed router will reinforce Chambers’ view of the company’s ‘temporary’ slide.